Because the "25,700" year cycle varies, somewhat, from wobble to wobble and because 6425 & 6561 are similar in duration, and because the average duration of any given cycle is associated with the distance between the Earth & Moon, I wonder, is 9 Star Ki tied to this cycle of Planetary Precession? Does 9 x 9 x 9 x 9 represent the number of years in a precessional season?

Currently (circa. 2000), the North Pole is pointing towards the star Polaris; however, this has not always been the case. 4,500 years ago, when the Great Pyramid of Giza was under construction, Thuban (Alpha Draconis) in the constellation Draco, was our pole star. Looking ahead, we see that the North Pole will once again face the Milky Way (precessional summer-peak ki) in about 6,500 years, or one precessional season. And we will enter "The Fall" (reducing ki) around the year 14,000 AD, when the pole passes between the bright star Vega and the head of Draco, the dragon.

And remember, we have passed this way before -- around 12,000 BC, we went through the previous Fall, dragon and all. This is the stuff of mythology!

As we begin our return to precessional summer, Earth's pole will first pass through the constellation Cepheus, so named in ancient times. In Greek legend, Cepheus is the father of Andromeda, but the name is also associated with the 'head'.

In early Greece, Cepheus was known as the "father of the Royal Family". He was King of Ęthiopia (not present day Ethiopia). According to Chinese tradition, this same constellation is known as Tsao Fu, 'the charioteer' -- similar to the Western chariots that traditionally pull the Sun and Moon. Whereas Arabic astrologers, who were excellent mathematicians and the forerunners of modern astronomy, assigned this constellation the more humble role of a shepherd, his sheep and his dogs.

Yet, all traditions maintain the common thread that this portion of the sky is associated with guidance and leadership (king, chariot driver, shepherd). The head.

I find it fascinating that, globally & historically, diverse civilizations have all come up with such similar references to the one constellation that is positioned in the precise spot that Mr. Kushi associates with the highest level of ki. And even more so, since he asserts that the point of entry is the head.

It was fairly easy for me to make this connection between so-called precessional summer and the relatively obscure constellation, Cepheus. Yet, I would never have thought to do so, had not Michio previously cited relationships between planetary precession and better known constellations. The most vivid example being that of "precessional autumn" when Earth's pole begins to move away from the band of the Milky Way and back towards the darkness of space (weakening ki). At this time, our pole passes between the very bright star, Vega, and the head of Draco, the dragon.

So, precessional autumn is not simply precessional fall, it is the Fall of Humanity. A time when the reduced ki not only affected our own bodies but all flora and fauna. Imagine a time when people began to feel less than perfect at precisely the same moment that plant life (food) became harder to find. Then imagine this happening after 5,000 years of strong ki and abundant food. They would have been innocents with hardly a clue as to how to survive. The Fall from The Garden.

Look at the time-line of the cycle of precession. The Fall occurred about 13,000 years ago. The first known agricultural sites date to the cultivation of Emmer wheat, about 10,800 years ago; suggesting that there was sufficient ki (and few enough people) to support humankind until it became inevitable that we must farm to survive.

"It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food ...."

And so the autumn passed into precessional winter, as Earth's pole swept, ever so slowly, further from the light of the galaxy and across the stars of the Dragon's spine. Men and women lived by clay, then bronze, then wars were fought face to face, with sharpened iron. A dark, dark time.

And then, still within the clutches of winter, but moving once more towards the light, the first bands of humanity regrouped. Not, this time, in great open fields beneath Heaven's Force, but in villages ever-so-close to the hearth of their life giving farms. And we began to record our words and we began to dream of prosperity. And of Empires.

About 4,500 years ago, when Thuban, in the Dragon's tail, was our pole star, the Great Pyramid of Giza was completed and the present cycle of human history resumed, full swing.

These days, we remain far, far from the Cepheus-Head, where Earth's "pole star" will once again be the band of the Milky Way. Yet, here is something interesting. I have just cited the brutality of The Fall, when humanity was first ushered into a 13,000-year struggle to share existing resources and create new ones, simply to survive.

Look at the circle of precession! Look at our north star, Polaris!

We are at the other end now. It is no longer The Fall. It is no longer the long-enduring human drudgery of precessional winter. This is The First Day of Spring. We are now heading back towards the headwaters of the ki. Only, this time (I hope) we can carry what we've learned, throughout the great-way of summer. We can flourish on Earth with a friendly, human technology and a written word we can all share. And we can venture out to other worlds, understanding they may not be as hospitable but knowing how to survive nevertheless.

Because of the [slowly] rising ki and because, this time, we have the opportunity to bring our skills and experience with us, I believe that humanity is in for a marvelous epoch. And it doesn't have to end with the next Fall. If we continue to carry what we have learned then we will know how to deal with the changing seasons of the universe, whether we inherit the Earth or whether we venture outward.

So, when I think about the Mayan Calendar "end of time" on December 23, 2012, I cannot help but to consider this enormous wheel of planetary precession. And I always arrive at the same conclusion. It is the end of time. And it is the beginning of the next cycle.

Most traditional cultures begin their New Year in the spring, so where's the surprise?

And even though they appear to be 2% off (a very aggravating difference when you're trying to make sense of the ki, day by day) I still wonder about the mathematical near-symmetry between 9 x 9 x 9 x 9 and the duration of Mr. Kushi's precessional season. If you study 9 Star Ki, and go beyond this number (6561 years) say, for example 9 x 9 x 9 x 9 x 9 (59,049 years) it no longer makes sense. You can't make clear connections (at least I can't) between the numbers and, say for example, larger cycles like ice-ages or mass human migrations. The 'precessional season' alternative makes so much more sense.

But what do I know? Sometimes the wheels get so big that all you can do is look to the sky and wonder. Thank God.